Interview with humor writer Hy Conrad

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Bio:

Best known for his work in
mysteries, Hy Conrad was one of the original writers for the groundbreaking
series, Monk, working on the show for
all eight seasons, the final two as Co-Executive Producer. In a related
project, Hy was Executive Producer and head writer of Little Monk, a series of short films featuring Adrian Monk as a
ten-year-old. His latest TV work was as
writer and Consulting Producer for White
Collar.

Hy is also the author of
hundreds of short stories and ten books of short whodunits, which have been
sold around the world in fourteen languages. Hy’s first mystery novel series, Abel Adventures, will debut in 2012
with the publication of Rally ‘Round the
Corpse. And his first full-length
comedy/mystery play, Home Exchange,
premiered at the Waterfront Playhouse in May 2012. He lives in Key West with his partner and two
miniature schnauzers. (www.hyconrad.com)

About the book:

Why do dogs eat furniture when there are endless chew toys
nearby? Why do they always dash to a rug
when they have to throw up? And why are
they always absolutely starving?

Things Your Dog Doesn’t
Want You to Know answers the questions that dog owners have asked for centuries. The book is a collection of 115
humorous essays that reveal the truth behind some of the most baffling canine
behavior, their hopes and dreams, their grudges and pleasures, and what they
really think about us humans. Peppered
with lively, clever stories and visually appealing photographs, Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know
is a verbal and visual delight that is laugh-out-loud funny. If you
have dogs, love dogs, or have ever been baffled by a dog, this book is a
must-have.

Topics include:

·My
Life in Your Purse by Tinkerbell, the Chihuahua

·Waiting
by the Table (for food scraps, of course!) by Orson, the
bulldog

·The
Bed Rules (Rule #1—It’s my bed) by Dimples, the boxer

·The
Reason I Ate the Sofa (leather tastes a lot like rawhide) by
Axelrod, the yellow lab

·I
Can Poop the Second I Start My Walk (but choose not to) by
Sophie, the cocker spaniel

Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,
Indigo, Target, on e-books and at independent bookstores everywhere. For more information, go to www.ThingsYourDog.com where you can also ask questions about your
own dog’s behavior and learn the secrets they have been keeping from you!

PRAISE FOR THINGS YOUR DOG
DOESN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

“A whimsical
delight for dog lovers everywhere, this book will charm and remind readers why
they fell in love with Rover to begin with.” (Publishers Weekly Starred
Review)

“I laughed,
my dog howled.”
(Steve Martin)

“This is the perfect book for anyone who owns a dog, has ever
owned one, or knows what a dog is. These guys made me laugh out loud—and
captured my heart at the same time. The book is simply irresistible.” (Tony
Shalhoub, star of the TV series Monk)

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Hy. What inspired you to write
this book?

The title came first and was, in fact, our inspiration.

One
evening, my co-author Jeff and I were watching TV and there was a series of
infomercials advertising books like “Things The Government Doesn’t Want You to
Know” and “Things the Banks Don’t Want You to Know.” A seemingly endless number of things we
weren’t supposed to know.

At
that point, one of us turned to the other and said, “Sure, what about something
really useful like ‘Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know.’” And that’s how the book got started.

Like
many humor books these days, this one began as a blog. We started posting on the most obvious
topics: “What We Do When You’re Gone” or “Sticking My Head Out The Car Window.”

The
initial idea was to keep them generic, in a sort of Everydog persona. But we soon realized that the humor was in
the specifics. It was funnier if the dog
had a real personality, and even funnier if we invented a variety of “blogging
dogs”, each with a radically different personality.

What exciting story are you
working on next?

Jeff and I had always wanted to work on a project together and this
was it.

Since then Jeff has been kept busy with running an advertising
agency in New York.

As for myself, I’ve always been a writer and recently published my
first mystery novel called “Rally ‘Round the Corpse.” This is the first book in a new series (“Abel
Adventures”) about a travel agent, Amy Abel, who specializes in adventure
travel and subsequently has a few murder-related adventures of her own. “Rally ‘Round the Corpse” will have its own
virtual book tour in January 2013.

In addition, I has just signed on to write two “Monk” novels, based
on the hit USA Network TV show and published by Obsidian Press.

When did you first consider
yourself a writer?

I guess this happened in two phases. I thought I could be a writer when I received my first check and it
cleared. I knew I was a writer when it
became my sole source of income. A
writer, in my mind, makes his living from writing.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your workday like? If not, what do you do other than write and
how do you find time to write?

I usually sit down around eight a.m. I start with the hardest thing on my schedule, usually a new
chapter. Later, when the creative energy
sags, I switch over to re-writing or blogging or other necessities. (The current time, FYI, is 4:31 p.m.).

For
decades I’ve treated writing as my job, so keeping a disciplined schedule is no
longer a problem. It also helps that I
have no hobbies and no real life.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

When I write, I need to be alone, but not totally isolated. If I could, I would hire someone just to sit
in the next room and not say anything. That
would be perfect.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child, my first goal was to fly and rule the world. My second was to go to the Academy Awards and
win in every category, including animated short subject and best sound
editing. I think my biggest
disappointment came when I realized I was too old to be the youngest “anything”
anymore.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Jeff and I had a blast writing this together.Our goal was to make it full of humor but with
a little edge.Sweet without being
sentimental.For four months, we got up
every day and talked about dogs and swapped paragraphs and laughed a lot.It was a great experience and we hope that
readers can appreciate all the fun and energy we put into it.

Thanks for being here today, Hy. I love starting off the week with a laugh or two. Best of luck with your tour!

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About Me

I'm a NH native and love New England. I love writing about the region, exploring it on foot, on my bicycle, and in my car. There are so many small communities and fun and interesting people in this area, that I could be here a lifetime and not do all it is I want to do. :)

I'm a moderator at The Writer's Chatroom that hosts live chats with guest authors on Sunday nights 7-9PM EST. Join the e-mail list to get notifications of upcoming guests, then stop in and join the conversation!